It's Your Fault
by Creativity's Loyal Servant
Summary: It was just a paper charm doll to let them be together forever. Who knew it would turn to something as horrifying as this? As the eight students and their teacher face the terrors of the school, everyone is putting the blame on themselves for something that wasn't their fault. Join in to listen to their feelings every step of the way. Fourth chapter up! Sorry for lack of updates.
1. The Shepherd to Lead the Cattle to Death

The Shepherd to Lead the Cattle to Death

In the bustling and cheery atmosphere of class 2-9, a group of seven was gathered in the darkest corner of the room where a candle would do suffice in illuminating the darkness to bring out a gloomy mood. It was mid-afternoon, and the sky was a greyish-blue where even darker storm clouds were gathered together to make rain soon enough.

Sat in the centre of her fellow classmates who were huddled to listen in to the story, was a girl of cerulean hair with twin-tails. She had propped her legs in between her wax candle so that her face got the full shine of the flame, creating an eerie look.

And with the creepy smirk that was plastered up her face, it made the atmosphere even more terrifying.

"Have you ever heard of an orphanage in Hiroshima where scientists performed their experiments on the children there?" she started off, giving everyone in the circle a look of mock questioning. "They had believed that they could make humans immortal by defusing the 'kill switch' in our brains. Needless to say, many innocent children in the orphanage were 'volunteered' for their experiments and that resulted into many deaths and major injuries to the poor children. One of them even became lobotomized because of that. The scientists dumped those who had 'expired', believing this was all necessary."

"After countless of deaths and a rebel child who eventually got beheaded by a scientist, they had found something freakish for those who had survived. A journal entry of one of the scientists had stated that the children act normally, wandering around aimlessly without a care. But if approached from behind…" the seventeen year old gave a sudden crack of the neck for an effect, earning a flinch from almost everyone in the group. "… They turn their faces to you at an almost breakneck speed, forming the vilest and scariest grin upon their faces… until you realize they're smiling dreamily again. And the orphans tend to follow the scientists around… only when they're on their own."

"The children's favourite game is called 'Kagome, Kagome.' Ever heard of that? It's where a group of people sit in a circle just like this and a person sits in the centre, eyes shut. The players surrounding the person in the centre chants 'Kagome, Kagome' and if the person in the middle flinches, it's game over."

"But you know… there's this rumor that if there's still an orphanage in Hiroshima, standing tall and old. If you enter the room down the hallway, you would be greeted with the sight of the caretaker and children with bandages in all sorts of places. And then, the caretaker says…" the twin-tailed girl hesitated before putting on a false cheery yet creepy voice.

"Won't you play 'Kagome, Kagome' with us?"

The teenage girl paused, letting the disturbing aura sink in with a smirk.

"If you say yes, you'll join them. Follow the rules; don't flinch, don't flinch, the children would chirp as they would bring you to the centre of the circle they were huddled in. No one knows what happens to those who said yes. Everyone says that whoever goes that far into the orphanage… are dead." She stated monotonously.

"Say no and the door will slam shut. You'll be dead before you know it, and only your beheaded corpse would be found. Say anything but yes or no…"

Ayumi stood straight up from the chair and slammed her palms on the wooden desk, earning shrieks from the girls and a yelp from Satoshi.

"They turn almost demonic, their now inhuman voices screaming, '_**DECIDE! DECIDE!**_'"

Her head snapped to Satoshi and she pushed herself at an ungodly speed in front of Satoshi's face.

"_**DECIDEEEEE!**_" she shrieked in a hysterical and crazed scream, pupils dilated and teeth bared.

"_UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!_" Said person screamed as he somehow flipped his chair to smash into the floor, head hitting the floor.

The lit wax candle was extinguished in a huff, leaving a trail of smoke behind from the fire that used to burn bright. A giggle escaped the class rep's lips that evolved into full blown laughter that eventually infected the rest of those in the circle and some of the classmates that were listening in on the conversation, with the exception of the boy who was still dazed from the fall. Ayumi closed her eyes briefly with a wide grin on her face to swipe away any tears that had worked its way through from all the laughing.

"Ahaha! That was one of the best reactions yet from Mochida-kun! I especially love how your each and every reaction gives out such a unique flair. Hmm~! It's so satisfying~" Ayumi sang out, moving to seat down as she twirled her twin-tails mischievously.

"Hnngh… why do I even bother listening to your stories when I _know_ that something bad is going to happen to me?" Satoshi groaned as he got up from the floor, rubbing his head.

"Well, you make good entertainment, Satoshi." Yoshiki replied from his spot, his chair shaking due to only two of its legs on the ground.

"That's just mean…"

"Hey, hey, Naomi! Why not you cheer up dear Mochida-kun with your tender love and care, hmm?" Seiko chirped up from next to said girl, nudging her at her side, making her flinch.

"H-Huh?" the tomboy stuttered out, a faint pink blush coating her cheeks. "I... have no idea…" she leaned in to pinch both of her best friend's cheeks hard. "What you're trying to say here!"

"Nah-oh-meh!" Shinohara managed to speak out as Naomi pinched her face even harder.

"Shinozaki-san! It's time for our lesson; I really hope you didn't scare Mochida-kun too much with another one of your occult stories." Ms. Shishido joked playfully as she entered the class in her normal pink dress and white jacket, the panda necklace swinging from her neck as she walks to the teacher's podium to place her stationery and books down.

"Eheh…" Ayumi said as she picked up the slightly warm candle before quickly beckoning the others to get back to their seats.

This was another normal day in the life of Kisaragi High in the class 2-9. In a week, there would at least be a horror story told by the class representative, Ayumi Shinozaki. She was very well-known for bringing candles with her everywhere, sometimes tucking it behind her ear and stuffing a maximum of four candles in both of her skirt pockets. The twin-tailed girl would somehow find the time to research for more occult stories during the weekend despite the amount of notes she had to revise for different tests each week. And so on a good occasion when the rain fell or the clouds in the sky turned dark and gloomy, Ayumi would whip out a candle out from her pocket and light it, a sly grin on her face, thinking how much of a good atmosphere this would make for her stories.

But the stories she told and all the occult things she did… this was a mask.

Sure, the stories were scary and of the supernatural, but Ayumi didn't believe it, to a certain extent. She had heard a lot of scary Japanese beliefs from her sister, who was a psychic for the supernatural. But as much as she believed them and assumed that she knew what to do in every situation given, if Ayumi was actually in one of those events, she would probably hyperventilate to no ends, cowering away and praying it was all a dream.

It has happened on some rainy nights when she laid in her bed only to wake up from the most horrible nightmare. It was only when she finally realised it was a dream, that her heart rate slowly went back to normal and her sudden gasps of air turned back to the steady pace it was.

Then it happened, on the night of school festival.

Just before that very day, Ayumi had gone to the convenience store to print off a charm she found on the Internet of her idol, a novelist who wrote about the paranormal. The paper doll was named Sachiko, hence the name of the charm, 'Sachiko Ever After'. According to Naho Saenoki, the charm was to bring the eternal bond of friendship and happiness for friends, and was to be done with the number of people being between two and ten. More could join in, but it would be more risky, as failing to chant the correct amount of times would cause the charm to fail.

Ayumi didn't understand. She read the instructions three to five times that it was ingrained in her mind. She didn't think that failing the charm would cause so much pain.

So much hurt.

One moment they were smiling happily with their new paper scraps between their fingers or tucked in their Student IDs, the next they were falling through the oblivion, the tiles having somehow cracked underneath them and everything was crumbling before-

Darkness.

The next thing she knew, Ayumi had woken up to the sound of Naomi's screams of sorrow and pain. That was when she realised; she really was plunged into an actual horror scene, because _clearly_ Kisaragi did not have rotting wooden boards, dimmed and flickering lighting as well as desks fit for elementary school students. The hyperventilating came almost naturally, causing her to collapse next to the teacher's podium, back leaning against the hard wood as she panicked.

The mask for being the 'horror rep of 2-9' cracked and fell off, leaving a scared girl with insecurities.

Her tolerance for a situation like this would be at a level of zero. Perhaps even a negative.

Ayumi had gone even further as pleading Ms. Yui not to go when the teacher decided to confirm that the scream they heard was nothing but the wind or the creaking of the building. It took about three full minutes to convince her, and even then the class rep was almost screaming at the English teacher to stay as she left the room. The promise that Ms. Yui made, to come back as quick as possible, was making her feel very uncomfortable.

And she didn't return.

It took another three minutes for her to persuade Kishinuma to get out and look for their teacher.

With the frustration, anger and fear she built up with each step after Ms. Yui did not come back, she found herself blanking out in some places, only to find herself in a different location. She blinked once before turning to look at Yoshiki with a question of 'What's up?'

She didn't understand why Yoshiki had a mortified expression on his face every time she found herself blanking out.

The haunted school seemed to really hate her. Not only could she not find Ms. Yui, but they had heard gurgles and laughter in the infirmary after an earthquake had happened not too long ago. And upon entering it, Ayumi's navy blue eyes caught sight of a family ponytail sticking up from the top of someone's head, tied together with a pink hair tie with beads.

Almost throwing herself unceremoniously in the room to catch sight of two ghastly pale blue revenants, she screamed at Mayu with urgency that she needed to get the hell out of there. But Suzumoto shook her head before handing an article about the ghost children. Apparently, they were killed years ago and Mayu, being the classmate with the biggest heart of them all, wanted to stay with them.

For once in Mayu's life, that led to her downfall.

After Yoshiki had yelled at them with a fury so great, the girls immediately hissed at them, hoisting the now unconscious Mayu and flinging them out of the room with a supernatural force. With a sinking feeling in their stomachs on what they were to do with their dear friend being in danger, they were met by no other than Naho Saenoki herself.

The deceased girl, as evident by her 'dead fish eyes', explained about how she died here in search for someone. With that brief explanation, the novelist told them of how to save their classmate; find something to appease them. Ayumi, now lit with a determination so strong, went immediately on her way to find that item. Yoshiki lingered behind for a few moments staring at Naho with a suspicious look before sighing and striding to keep up with Shinozaki.

As they scoured the area for anything that seemed to be a way to appease the spirits, they had managed to obtain an antique doll that spoke in a robotic and eerie manner. It told them about how the murderer himself was very sorry for what he had did, and how he was very scared in doing that.

Yoshiki barely stopped Ayumi from chucking the doll back into the hole, an irrational part of her mind telling her to do anything to get rid of it.

Returning into the infirmary with quick steps, they found that the vengeful young spirits had moved forward. In a fit of anger, Kishinuma had yelled at it in spite of taking their friend and hurting her. Yuki, the one with her left eye bloody and soupy, had nearly shut them out had Ayumi not swiftly pulled out the plush doll and presented it to them.

They went silent and stared at it, or what looked like they were staring at it. One of them had her head cut off at her jawline, showing nothing but a part of the cut tongue. Yuki had her only eye transfixed upon the doll.

Silence.

"Hwah… _Okaah-saah_!"

The girls began to weep and moan of their families, and how they missed them so. Ayumi's eyes softened before edging forward to Mayu who was still drifting with the revenants' power.

"I know it hurts… a lot at the matter. But you're free now. You're appeased." The twin-tailed girl spoke slowly, smile still retained on her pale face. "Go on, go back to your mothers now."

The spirits continue to hic and sob, before silence eventually reigned in the infirmary. Yoshiki kept quiet for the entire way through, admiring silently at Shinozaki's skills at soothing the spirits.

"You can do it… put Suzumoto-san down and return to your mothers. They're waiting for you." She continued to take small inching steps forward, as to not aggravate the spirits once again.

Silence.

Something was wrong.

Instead of disappearing in a flash of bright light and never to be seen in this accursed school again, their figures stiffen before releasing a snarl and a hiss respectively. Ayumi gasped silently before she took another quick step forward.

"Wait! Put her down!" her voice raised along with her hand that reached out and try to grab Mayu.

A second too late.

In almost an instant, the deceased ghost children broke through the wooden infirmary door with a crash before flying at a breakneck speed out of sight.

Mayu had woken up when the debris of wooden splinters scattered all over her clothes.

"W-Wha-? No… no, stop it! _NOOOOOOOOO!_"

_**SCHNK**__._

In that moment, Ayumi thought she felt time freeze in its tracks as soon as she heard Mayu's terrified scream and that _thud_ on whatever contact that was. Yoshiki was standing deathly still, unable to believe what just unfolded before his eyes. In a fit of anger, the class rep threw the antique doll to the wooden floor, almost bouncing down a hole made from the rotten wooden planks.

Without another word, Ayumi exited the room with stomping footsteps.

The bleached blonde teenager stood there, blinking once, twice.

"No way… that can't be…" he uttered out before racing after the occult obsessed girl.

He didn't want to see how the wooden sliding door had broken from the tremendous inhuman strength as he exited the door. He didn't want to see the smear of fresh blood on the floor boards as he dashed across to where Ayumi was. And what he really didn't want to see; was that horrible sight in front of the now crying class representative.

From what he mortifyingly imagined, the revenants had apparently flung poor Suzumoto onto the dirtied wall. If he didn't know that the sixteen year old girl was killed, he probably would have thought it was just a pile of intestines and chunks of muscles that were splattered on the wall, staining it a dark red colour. There was absolutely no evidence that this was Suzumoto, unless you would be willing enough to dip your hand into the pool of blood to hunt for the student ID. The smell of the pulverised corpse was overwhelming, giving off a smell that would only be found at a butcher's shop, where all the meat would be cut. With the smell of iron from the blood, it made Yoshiki want to puke the contents of his lunch all over the floor.

And from what he saw in a small puddle of blood splattered on the floor, was the cracked pink bead from the hair tie Suzumoto wore.

"No, this isn't… Suzu-" he started with an almost trembling voice, terrified by the entire scene.

"_**I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!**_" the twin-tailed girl screamed before taking off in the other direction.

The tolerance that she had from the start of Heavenly Host till this very moment was now obliterated. Ayumi believed this was a dream at the start, but Mayu; dear God, Mayu…

No. She didn't want to deal with this anymore. She just wanted to die in a hole and be done with it. She deserved every bit of pain and everything was her fault. She couldn't stand or take any more of the pain or any of her friends dying.

And so she ran, in a desperate attempt to run away from the problem.

She heard Yoshiki calling out to her, quite a number of times too. Another call of her name, and it was cut abruptly. But Ayumi kept running. She ran and ran until her legs gave out under her, and then she would crawl all the way, so frantic in getting away from Suzumoto's corpse and this crazed school.

Because one thing that she knew, is that she was to blame for bringing them to their deaths.


	2. I'm So Sorry

I'm So Sorry

With a swing of the door open and a haphazard toss of her satchel to the top of her dresser, Naomi flung herself on her soft pink bouncy bed, chocolate brown eyes gazing up the creamy brown ceiling. She gave out a sigh as she allowed herself to be enveloped by her surroundings. The slightly dimmed lighting in her room that gave a small flicker every now and then; the swirly patterns that the ceiling had been adorned with; the stain that would be forever there in her room…

Naomi gave a reminiscent smile as she gazed at it.

If she recalled it correctly, it was her dad who indirectly made the stain. It was her fifth birthday, and Naomi being the mischievous little child she was, she had roughly shaken up a can of soda that was given by her mother. With her father being thirsty for a drink, she had given it to him before scurrying away to the corner where her study desk was, waiting for the verdict.

The coke had not only splashed at the very top of her ceiling, but all over her father as well. Naomi remembered the 'punishment' she got after that; a tickle fest from her father that was still drenched in sugary carbonated water.

Nakashima let out another sigh, closing her eyes.

The door clicked open again before another figure walked in, shutting the door before giving a quick 'kitty' smile to Naomi. As she sets down her own school bag neatly at the side of Naomi's drawers, Seiko spun on her heel before she squished her own cheeks, almost bouncing with excitement.

"Hwahhh~! Is this really what Heaven smells like?" the sixteen year old girl squealed as she gave a dramatic sniff of the air. "No matter where I go in this wonderful house of yours, everything smells like you!" the amber eyed girl continued to whiff the air quickly, taking in the scent of her best friend very deeply.

Naomi rolled her eyes before she sat up at the edge of her bed.

"You always say that whenever you pounce on me in school and squeal out after you harassed me enough." The tomboy joked as swung her legs back and forward.

"But Na-o-mi~!" Seiko enunciated every syllable with a playful tone. "You smell wonderful!"

"And you sound like a pervert. But wait, you are, aren't you?"

"Hwah!? Naomi, that's mean of you!"

"Mhmm." Naomi brushed the statement off with a stretch as she opted to lie back down on her bed again.

"Wuu…" Seiko gave a childish pout in an attempt to make her best friend apologise.

It's only after a moment that Seiko realised Naomi's eyes are shut and that she obviously doesn't want to say anything of forgiveness. With a sparkle in her mocha orbs, Seiko gingerly tiptoed to Naomi's side before she let in a silent but dramatic inhale of air and pounced on Nakashima's chest.

"Uwaaah! _Seiko!_"

"Ahaha! I have marked my place on this holy ground you call 'home' and infiltrated your walls! This conquest has been marked a rousing success, ufufu! The flag has been planted on this land between Naomi and Seiko!" she yelled out cheerfully, completely squashing Naomi.

After a couple of moments attempting to push the girl off of her, she swiftly sat up so that another event like that doesn't happen again, rubbing her now sore stomach. Naomi shot a glare at Seiko that doesn't last very long with her best friend's grinning face.

'Of course,' the tomboy thought as she returned a warm smile. 'No one can ever seem to get mad at Seiko with her bubbly attitude.'

"This is going to be a long evening full of fun, isn't it?" she mumbled quietly, smile still on her lips. "But…" Naomi's face contorted in confusion as she looked up at Seiko. "What's the whole flag thing about? Is it something to do with your 'conquering' of my house?"

Seiko just gave a mischievous grin before she waggled her eyebrows.

"I think you know _exactly_ what the means, my dear Naomi! Kukuku~!"

Having been so excited for their very first slumber party together, as soon as the bell that signaled the end of the day rang, they had shot out of the room at lightning speed before they raced to the stores to stock up on all the goodies and soft drinks they could get. With their bags full of snacks and drinks and the excitement filling up in them for their first sleepover, they were definitely bound to have plenty of fun.

Before Naomi could open her mouth to question her statement, Seiko sprung up with her hand raised.

"Ah, I forgot! Naomi, would you mind if I made a call back home? Yuu, Aya and Kei know exactly where I am, but I think it would be good to reassure them since I didn't get to drop by." Seiko asked, her curls bouncing beneath her ears as she tilted her head.

"Sure, no problem! Do you want to use the landline to call them?"

"Nah, it's okay! My cellphone would do just the trick, heheh!" she assured her classmate before she pulled out her green cellphone with the little bear keychain that dangled from it. "I just need to phone up Yuu and make sure he's fine. He'll be pretty down in the dumps if I didn't call in the very least." Seiko added, with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Go ahead! I'll just take a quick trip to the bathroom and we'll be back to have some more fun, okay?" Nakashima said as she opened the door to let Seiko out first.

"Okie dokes!" she grinned before she exited into the hallway.

As she trailed behind and made a few steps to the bathroom door, she gave a small glance behind her, to see Seiko look back at her; cellphone in one hand as the other formed the peace sign that matched with the huge beam on her face. Returning the gesture of a smile, she turned the knob and entered the bathroom.

Even with the fact that Seiko was going to be there in her room when she got out, it made Naomi very thrilled at that very thought. After all, Seiko was her best friend!

'Oh, just think of all the things that we could talk about!' Naomi thought with a small giggle as she washed her hands at the sink. 'Where would we even start? What stories should we tell each other about?!'

Finishing off with drying her hands on the nearby towel rack, she skipped off into her room with high spirits. As her feet thumped on the wooden floor of her house, she could hear Seiko's voice getting closer and closer before she stopped in front of her bedroom door.

"Mhmm~! Right! So, dad's going to be late tomorrow because of work, right? As soon as the Kisaragi Fest is done and our goodbyes are said, I'll head back as soon as possible, okay?" Seiko's voice rang out, her tone filling up with one of a motherly voice.

Naomi slowly opened the door, as to not disturb Seiko from her conversation with her younger brother.

Seiko had her back to Naomi as she paced around, talking to Yuu on the phone.

"And as soon as I get back, we'll plan out Dad's special surprise together, okay? Mhmm! Yep, yep!" she giggled as one of her fingers twirled the curls under her ears. "Give all of onee-chan's love to everyone too, alright? And tuck yourself good tonight so that none of you catch a cold! Mhmm… love you, Yuu. Take care." Seiko said in a quiet yet happy tone, before ending the call with a beep.

Naomi allowed a faint smile to creep on her lips as she walked to Seiko, who turned around to Naomi with a big grin.

"Heheh, that was sweet of you. Are they holding up good?" she asked; an act of politeness.

"Mhmm! They sure are! And now, there's nothing for Mama Seiko to worry about! I have all the time in the world to spend with you today, Naomi!" she chirped, hands moving to her hips with a proud stance.

"Well, you definitely look like you're ready to have fun." Naomi raised her eyebrows in amusement, a smirk coating her lips.

"And so do you." Seiko mirrored with a waggle of her eyebrows.

In a moment, they giggled at their silliness before engaging in a conversation on a topic about boys. And as usual, the topic eventually went to a boy in school that Naomi had a crush on, Satoshi. It wasn't long after that Seiko got a pillow to her face for having mimicked kissing noises that had something to do with Mochida and Nakashima.

Yes, the two girls, Naomi and Seiko, were inseparable best friends; going through both the thick and thin together. And if they ever did fight, it was only because Naomi was unable to stop the tantrum she had, and was extremely guilty as soon as she got in control. Nevertheless, Shinohara always gave a warm smile before she accepted her apology; no matter how big or small the impact was.

But it was because of that, did Naomi lose her best friend for good.

~x-x-x- I'm So Sorry –x-x-x~

"Nngh… huh?"

Naomi gingerly sat up from sprawled position on the floor. Blinking her eyes to clear away the blurriness in her surroundings, a seed of fear and shock was beginning to bloom inside of her as she realised that this wasn't her classroom.

For starters, the floor she laid on was rotting away, broken holes on every inch of the floor, some big enough to fall to your death or small enough to trap your foot in and possibly fracture your bones if you weren't careful. The darkness was overwhelming in the room, devoid of any light source, and what with the outside of the school window's being pitch black with the rain thundering down to flashes of lightning and the sound of rumbles from the sky. The desks and chairs were scattered around the entire room, and even despite not having cleaned up after the Kisaragi festival, surely they didn't mess up the room that much, right?

Nakashima got up from the ground, shifting her force on her right foot which immediately made a pain sear from her ankle. With a grunt, she barely stabilised herself on a nearby desk that she had latched on so quickly. Sitting at the edge of the desk, she brought her right foot to examine her ankle.

With her knowledge of nursing and injuries only being so vast, she prodded at the swell on her ankle, flinching slightly at the prickles of dull pain. Bringing it back to the ground bit by bit, she tested her foot on the ground, applying only slight force until she was sure that she could manage the pain if she started walking.

"Must be a sprain…" she muttered before beginning to walk to the front of the room. "But where the hell is this place? It's so dark that I can barely make out what's in front of me." She muttered with a worried tone, before limping forward.

Almost as if the place she was in recognised her request, the lights flickered on, showering the room with a bright white light and blinding Naomi's eyes for a little bit.

Blinking the blue spots in her vision away, her face was etched into an anxious frown.

"What's going on here…?" she questioned quietly, venturing towards the front once again.

She was soon blocked by holes and chairs that were somehow stuck to the floor boards. But even if it wasn't stuck, she couldn't climb over them; it would only make her leg injury even worse. Peering to the front, she saw a familiar figure lying on the floor.

Her chocolate eyes widened in shock.

"..! Seiko! Hey, Seiko, Seiko!" she yelled, a desperate feeling growing inside her.

With the lack of response and no stirring to consciousness, Naomi began to panic, searching for a way to get to her best friend. Seeing a sliding door to what looked like the way to the hallway, she dashed to the entrance and slammed it open before she rushed towards the other door of the classroom; sprained ankle or not.

And with a crack and a slip, down Naomi came on the hard wooden boards, bracing herself with her hands just in time to avoid a terrible bruise to her face.

"Ghk… I think it's best not to strain my ankle… it's already in a bad condition." She muttered before she hoisted herself up with a wince and limped quickly along to the room.

With an unceremonious throw of her body through the classroom's door, Naomi rushed as hastily as she could with her sprained ankle to Seiko, still lying next to the teacher's podium. Kneeling next to her with a thump on the floor, she began to shake her, being slightly rough as she did so in desperation.

"Seiko! Please wake up! Sei-"

Brown orbs latched upon the slow rising of her friend's chest in a rhythmic pattern. Naomi lets out a sigh of relief, assuring herself that Seiko was indeed breathing. With her heart beat going back to its norm pace, she continued to try and wake her up.

"Seiko, come on! Please wake up!"

With a flicker of her eyes, Shinohara slowly drew her eyelids open, blinking once before getting up and staring at Naomi. She gave a small yawn before she moved to rub her eyes, giving a little shake of her head to fully wake herself up.

"Naomi? What's up? You look worried." She frowned, eyebrows furrowing in confusion and guilt that she might have did something wrong.

"Damn right I was worried! I thought you were dead!" Naomi half yelled and half sighed of relief; hugging Shinohara tightly.

"..? Naomi…" Seiko gingerly wrapped her arms around her best friend's body for a firm squeeze before letting go, taking in her surroundings as she stood up. "Where are we?"

"I don't know either, Seiko… I'd like some answers too." Nakashima knitted her eyebrows with a muddled expression plastered upon her face.

With that, it started their 'adventure' of this foreign place. In an innate way of getting out of the room, Seiko immediately headed for the windows and pulled at them. The only thing she got out of them were creaking noises, and even with Naomi's help, it wouldn't budge one bit.

'This place is creeping me out… it's as if the windows are ornaments on the walls; just there to look pretty and give us false hope of getting out.' Naomi thought; the flower of dread blooming inside her bit by bit. 'And we can't even see what the hell is outside of this school! What the hell is going on here?!'

And it didn't get any better.

Seiko had gone up to a piece of paper stuck on the wall and slowly consumed the contents word for word. And with each letter she took in, her face got paler and paler until her hands started trembling with fear.

With an uncertainty in her voice, Naomi asked what it said on the notice.

A nervous gulp.

"I-It… said… 'H-Heavenly Host Elementary – A N-Notice to All Faculty and Students'…" Shinohara stuttered out, body beginning to shake in terror from it as well.

It wasn't long after that confirmation that Seiko broke down in a fit of terror, backing away from the print-out on the wall and panicked about what the heck was happening.

After calming her best friend down, they stood there in silence; both of them quaking hard from the fear with their hands grasped tightly together. Deep inside, Naomi wasn't able to form any coherent thoughts, what with the situation they were in and the notice that proved that this was Heavenly Host Elementary. Eventually, Naomi, who couldn't take the pounding silence anymore, spoke up. She gave Seiko a determined smile, telling her that there would definitely be a way out of here; a way to find their friends. And the only way they could do that, Naomi said, was to keep their spirits soaring high.

That definitely perked Seiko back up to her bubbly form again, her signature kitty grin on her porcelain face once again.

But deep down inside, Naomi wasn't saying this to spark the fire to the hope that might lead them out. No, no. Frankly speaking, all she had just said was all crazy talk to her. But Nakashima knew that if she had let the silence linger for any longer, she would have gone mad. So, pulling on her tomboy mask on her face, she gave a smile of encouragement and comfort before she spouted out words that she probably wouldn't be able to keep to.

And even with all the words drenched positivity flowing through them, the earthquake that happened just before they fully stepped out of the room definitely made a dent into their confidence.

With their exploration around the school and acquiring certain keys along the way, they met with a sight that dampened their assurance of an exit out here even more.

In the darkness of the classroom they were in, 2-A, if they had recalled correctly; a bleached skeleton that donned a ragged school uniform was sprawled across the wooden floor boards in the corner of the classroom. Splatters of dark crusty blood were in a close radius of the corpse, and gave off a pungent smell despite how far they were from the body.

Terrified, Naomi bravely decided to take a closer look to ensure that the corpse was really made of human bones, not props. Walking closer to it, the stench got stronger and was repulsive to the point that Nakashima wanted to throw up. With a stumble backwards, she declared with a burning terror in her stomach that it was an actual person.

A flicker of blue light appeared a second later, forming right next to the skeleton. It wasn't too long that they were explained fully that this school worked on different dimensions and 'closed' spaces. And with that topic, the spirit said that there was no possible way to meet up with their friends. The lamenting spirit did not notice the dying of the spark of hope in their eyes as he mentioned that it would be best to live their days out in this hell.

A click resounded in the room as the door slid open to the other side of the hallway.

Everything happened so fast after that. They ran out of the room from that ghost girl in red, feet pounding on the floor boards as they got out of the classroom. Naomi led Seiko all the way, even while limping, her confidence slowly dwindling as their eyes met with other corpses and the horrible reassurance that should they die here, they would feel the pain of the death forever. Naomi was even beginning to lose it as she yelled at Seiko for getting them trapped in one of the rooms after a persuasion of 'the booty'.

For a second, the tomboy thought she was going to starve to death in that very room and never seeing the light of day or her mother ever again.

It was lucky for them that the door swung open and they got out as quickly as they could. Naomi, despite having lectured her classmate as they continued on their accursed journey, had a weight of guilt in her heart now, and it wasn't doing any good to heighten her spirits. Seiko's enthusiasm, however, was building up, and Naomi was starting to hate it with every single step of the way.

Not even wanting to remember the grotesque 'meaty' splatter of a corpse upon a wall, Naomi recalled a fleeting moment where Seiko wanted her 'ass cream' to 'butter up her pooper', as Seiko bluntly told her. She remembered that it was there that she heard Satoshi's little sister's voice whimpering for help.

As soon as Shinohara got out and was told of the situation, they rushed through the place, determined to find the little girl.

Without another sign or call of Yuka's voice, they stopped at the infirmary for a little rest. Seiko had been willing enough to make a splint for Naomi's still swollen ankle, the girl being very grateful for that. The happiness and liveliness started to return as they laid upon the infirmary beds for a kip, making almost as if that they were back at Kisaragi.

That was when the younger Mochida's voice rang out in a cry for help.

Shinohara had immediately sprung up and went to the door. Nakashima, who had wanted to tag along, was tsked by Seiko in a motherly fashion and told to kept 'dat ass parked on dat bed' before promising that she would be back soon enough.

That was when Naomi finally snapped after what unfolded in the infirmary.

The voice of middle aged woman filled the infirmary followed by the creepy laughter of children. Naomi, feeling already uneased by the atmosphere, made a dash for the door, only to find it wrapped with lattices of black hair and it was then that the panic began to set in. Almost instantly, a dark mist formed behind her, emanating the most demented of sounds, ghostly hands raised in a definite attempt to strangle the life out of her.

Somehow, she didn't know how, but she managed to get out.

After she vomited the contents of her lunch out of her stomach, Naomi heard the sounds of pattering footsteps coming back. The figure came around the corner, just in time to see Naomi spewing out even more bile.

Things started to get out of hand. From assurances from Seiko to the fact that she wasn't able to find Yuka infuriated Naomi and caused a fury in her mind. Her best _friend_ left her alone while she nearly got maimed by a spirit, how the hell is that fine?! And what the hell was with her optimism; no normal person would ever act like that!

Insult after insult came pouring out of her mouth, Nakashima being painfully aware of it all but being unable to stop a wild tantrum. Seiko took each brunt of the words; each of them cracked her heart bit by bit until it came to the topic of family.

It was the final straw for Seiko when Naomi said that she was being a burden to her family with her being stuck in a stupid situation like this and suggested, with a mind that had already given up, about splitting up.

"Who…" Seiko started, eyes beginning to spark in anger.

She turned to Naomi with a face contorted with rage.

"Who the hell says those kind of things in a situation like this?!" Seiko yelled, clenching her fists as the tears began to fall from her face.

The thought of apology instantly came to Naomi's mind as she tried to open her mouth to utter it out.

"Do you think you're the only one who's dying to get out?! I want to get back to home where my family is waiting! Everybody; my dad, Aya, Kei, Yuu; I don't want them to be worrying about me while I'm trying to fight for my own life in this place!" her voice cracked, the feeling of sorrow beginning to work its way through her voice.

'No, no… I have to apologize… I have to!' Naomi's mind screamed, but yet no words came out from her lips.

"But most of all…" Seiko hiccupped, tears overflowing from her cheeks. "I don't want you, of all the people in the world, to speak to me with that kind of attitude."

Naomi's mouth opened to immediately spout out the words, 'I'm so sorry', but nothing came out. Only short noises and silence was it.

Eventually, they did split up; Seiko made the decision with a forced smile on her face and tears glistening on her cheeks.

She walked the other way.

Almost as soon as she got out of sight, Naomi had fell on her knees and broken down into sobs, pounding on the wooden floorboard with her fists.

It was her fault for not even being able to say the three words, 'I'm so sorry.'

It was her fault for chasing Seiko away and making her break down.

And now, she was left all alone, from her stupid decision.

And it was all her fault.

~x-x-x- I'm So Sorry -x-x-x~

The thunder rumbled outside of the household of the Nakashima's, black rainclouds huddling together, blocking out the sky that was a dull grey. The tree swayed harshly to the gust of wind that whistled as it whisked by the leaves of the foliage.

If you look inside very carefully through the darkness from the window pane outside, you could see a figure of a woman on the phone, eyes brimming with tears.

"Yes… that's right." Natsumi muttered, giving a glance up to a bedroom door upstairs. "She hasn't even taken a step outside her bedroom today too. And she… she keeps talking about that friend of hers!" the thirty-eight year old mother's voice quivered with hurt and frustration. "I keep telling her, every time, that whoever she's talking about doesn't exist but…" Natsumi's voice cracked. "She just gives me mortifying stare! Never in my life have I've seen her look at me like that! Not once!" she sobbed, tears dripping from her cheeks. "Please… she was always such an optimistic girl…"

"_Okaa-san!"_

"Tell me… please, just tell me what happened to my happy daughter of mine! Tell me what happened to her!" she wept, sniffing and taking sharp gasps as she tried to form coherent words.

"_Please, stay calm, Ms. Nakashima." _A deep voice on the other end of the phone rang out, with a solemn tone. _"This situation is to be taken care of utmost precision and care. Please do remember, that even with how you are holding up right now, your daughter is facing possibly worse matters than you." _The therapist advised, enunciating each word clearly and slowly in an attempt to calm the woman down.

"_Do not think of her as a lost cause or there would be a possibility of her shutting herself in and never getting the full and necessary help she needs. As a doctor, I will give the best and assist you throughout the whole process, rest assured."_ He continued; a hint of determination found in his firm tone. _"And together, we will help you bring back your happy little girl once again." _

Natsumi nodded to herself, as if she were speaking to the therapist face to face.

"Yes… yes, you're right…" she sniffed, wiping the tears away from her eyes. "I feel better listening to your advice… so thank you." She took a deep breath to soothe her trembling body before exhaling. "I think… I'll check on her right now."

"_Alright. But be warned. As I said before, do not think of her as a lost cause, so it is best for you to not say anything that could upset her." _ The doctor forewarned the mother, having experienced situations like this countless of times.

"A-Alright." She let loose a small stutter before putting the phone back to the receiver stiffly.

Each thump on the wooden staircase resonated in the quiet and darkened household. Natsumi's footsteps were slightly sluggish, before they halted in front of her daughter's bedroom quietly.

The sign that hung on her little girl's door was crooked; a picture depicting a happy dog with its tongue sticking out did nothing to alleviate her spirits at all. Extending her hand with a sigh and prayer for the best, she knocked on the door.

"Naomi?" she asked firmly, her shakiness of her tone still evident in her voice.

Silence was the answer back. In any normal situation as before, she would have believed her daughter was asleep. This wasn't the case now, however.

"N-Naomi? Have you gone to bed yet? It's getting pretty late…" Natsumi spoke with a more steady voice, believing in her heart that _yes, my daughter would eventually come around, and everything will be fine_. "It's your mom, okay? I'll be coming in, if that's okay with you…" she added carefully after a moment of no response.

The thirty-eight year old woman placed her hand gingerly on the door knob before twisting it, letting the door click and swing open softly. As the door swung open smoothly, Natsumi let out a small gasp as her eyes locked on her daughter, still clad in her yellow pajamas and still standing in the corner of the room.

Naomi did nothing in response, only staring straight at the wall, ignoring her mother's presence.

With an inhale of air, Natsumi ventured forward ever so slowly, as to not agitate her precious girl.

"Naomi? I really can't believe that you've been standing there for a whole day, you know?" she gave out a forced laugh before tilting her head, trying her best to keep up with the happy charade. "You must be tired for standing for the whole day. Why not take a rest on the bed to soothe your legs a bit?" she gestured to the bed despite knowing that Naomi wasn't looking at her.

No answer.

"You know… your mother had a really great find today during shopping!" she gulped a little bit before continuing. "I was going to return home with the groceries, when I stumbled upon an adorable little kitten in the pet store. And… you've been begging me for a kitten for quite some time, right?" she quizzed, the feeling of despair almost fading as the one-sided conversation went on. "It was a little Fold with such beautiful auburn fur. It kept staring at me too… I couldn't even pry myself away from such a cute sight!" Natsumi giggled, the stiffness going away briefly.

"I'd really love to introduce the two of you together. Why not we skip school tomorrow and see the kitten? Your teacher allowed you to take a break off of school, so why not we take a little 'Girl's Day Out' and shop, hmm?"

Natsumi almost expected at least for Naomi to turn around, with maybe a slight spark of liveliness in her eyes. Instead, the stillness continued on in a foreboding manner, and Naomi continued to disregard any topic of the conversation.

It was starting to break the mother's heart to see all this.

"Hey… Naomi. You seem to stand there every day… so could you tell your mother why you're doing that?" she said sweetly, inching forward with dampening spirits. "Is there… someone with you, Naomi?" she hesitated on adding that when no reply came.

"Seiko." The daughter of Nakashima muttered monotonously, for the first time throughout the entire conversation that Naomi had finally said something.

Natsumi flinched at her answer before deciding that it was time to take it very, very cautiously on her reply.

"Naomi… listen to your mother very closely, o-okay? And please understand that your mother doesn't want to make you angry…" she started, palms getting sweaty from her decision. "I want to know a little bit more about your friend, okay? Just a little chat about her."

Without even waiting for an answer, she started taking steps forward, gazing at her daughter for any sudden movements.

"Seiko… this girl from your class… how long has she been there with you?" she questioned, her legs beginning to tremble from the tension.

"Always." Was the dull reply back; Naomi not bothering to turn around and face her mother completely.

"And could you tell me… what class it was?" Natsumi continued, swallowing.

"2-9."

"Oh… is that right?" she forced out a small chuckle. "I've always heard such good comments out of your homeroom. Everyone there gets along so well with each other, right?" she said before frowning on the topic she was supposed to breach now. "But the thing is…" she looked up to see any kind of verdict from Naomi.

Natsumi swore that her daughter stiffened up a bit, but she was otherwise still and unresponsive.

"But… no one from your class has heard of-"

"Get out." Naomi cut off, a tinge of anger heard in her voice.

"…!" Natsumi clasped her hands to her mouth, knowing that she went over the boundary and provoked her daughter.

"_You don't believe a fucking word I'm saying, so why the __**hell**__ are you still here in my room?! Get the __**hell **__out __**now**__!_" Naomi spun around with flames of fury dancing in her eyes, pushing her mother harshly to the floor.

"Aaargh!" Natsumi yelled out, before landing to the hard cold wooden floor.

"_Why the hell did you even come up here?! You don't even believe me, so stop pretending already! You don't care about me one bit!_" Her daughter screamed; pounding her fists upon the wall and stomping her foot hard on the ground. "_You think I'm fucking crazy, don't you?!_"

The banging continued with an even harder effort, shaking the paintings and a pin board that were hung on the wall. This was soon followed up by Naomi's wails as the tears began trickling down her face; fists getting redder from all the impact she made on the wall.

Getting up quickly from the floor, the thirty-eight year old mother tried to restrain her daughter, her heart shattering to pieces from this mess that has went on for months.

"Naomi, please stop!" Natsumi's voice cracked while she attempted to prevent her from injuring herself. "You're going to hurt yourself!"

But Naomi only jerked out of her grasps and wrung her hands, gripping the sides of her head hard as she screamed in agony.

"Naomi, listen to me! There's no person in your class that I know called 'Seiko'! You have to stop your tantrum! Please!" she pleaded, her own tears starting to overflow.

"_I'm perfectly sane! It's everyone who's gone fucking crazy!_" she yelled back, her hands returning to hammering on the wall.

"Naomi, please!" Natsumi raised her sobbing voice throughout the pounding. "You need to calm down-"

"_SHUT THE HELL __**UP**__!_" she screeched through the midst of the tears, halting her actions to release her rage upon her mother. "_JUST LEAVE ME ALONE ALREADY! ALL OF YOU CAN JUST BURN IN HELL, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT SEIKO'S REAL!_"

And with another tormented scream that echoed in her entire bedroom, she flung her things sitting on her study desk in a rage.

"N… Naomi!" her mother cried out; her heart hurting from all the insults that Naomi was flinging at her.

"_AAAA__**AAAA**__AAAH! _The sixteen year old howled out before slamming her fist on the window, causing it to make a _crack_ as a small fissure on the glass pane.

"Naomi, please, I beg of you, calm down!" she hiccupped through the words she said quickly, pulling out the medicine that she kept in her pocket for situations like this. "Please!"

With a grab, Natsumi pulled Naomi in her arms forcefully, trying to get a pill in her mouth.

"_NO! LET GO OF ME! __**LET GO OF ME**__!" _she screamed repetitively, trying to fight with her mother with punches and scratches.

"It's medicine, Naomi! It'll help you relax, so please!" she spat out with a blow she got on her right leg from a kick.

"_NO! __**NOOO!**_" she yelled out, her endeavours of getting away stronger than before.

"_Naomi! Take the medicine, please!_" Natsumi's voice went to as loud as Naomi's, accidentally pushing against the desk and making something clatter to the floor.

Through the entire scuffle between mother and daughter, Naomi's cellphone slowly flickered on with a picture depicting a figure with a blackened out face giving a peace sign. If anyone else were to look at it, they would be confused to who that person is.

But to Naomi, it was perfectly clear who it was.

"_WHY WON'T ANYONE BELIEVE ME?! WHY?!_"

… It was Seiko.

After the fight they had in that accursed place and they had parted ways, Naomi came across Seiko who was slowly dying from the noose around her neck. And even with her help to save her, it was too late.

She died before Naomi could use a footstool and save her.

Nakashima had immediately mourned her death, screaming on why the hell she killed herself when she promised they would get out hand in hand, together. The blame eventually went to her, because, after all, it was her fault for making Seiko break down to the point that she had committed suicide from the terrors of this place.

It was only an hour and ten minutes later, that Naomi really was to be blamed for all of this.

She had stumbled across a TV set that had a video tape playing. Curious and stopping her tracks for a moment of finding the others, she watched the video. And throughout the whole thing, she found out who the murderer was. She found out who was the one the dragged her to the girl's lavatories, tied the noose around her, and kicked the bucket that Seiko was standing on to seal her fate.

… It was none other than Naomi herself.

Naomi recalled yelling herself hoarse, the Darkening seeping into her in every entry it could go in. She recalled giving up on life and accepting her fate as the punishment for her crime.

She recalled being sent countless of text messages from her deceased friend, all with the same title, 'No Hard Feelings'.

With the much needed encouragement from Seiko, she eventually found her way to the others and they got out in the nick of time before the last bell finally tolled and trapped them in the school forever. As they went over the fence and into the rainy weather, a bright light enveloped Naomi and the others before she found herself losing consciousness.

When she finally woke up, she was absolutely euphoric that they got out. They were alive and that was the end of ever seeing that hell again. Cheers rang out in the room that slowly became silence when they realised; their friends were never coming back.

Those who died there… they were never to see the light of day or Heaven, for the matter of fact.

Seiko was never going to be with her ever again.

And so when Naomi got back home and locked herself in her room before her mother could say anything to her, she flipped out her phone and looked at the picture that she took of Seiko.

And her heart dropped like a stone to the bottom of her stomach.

Her face was blackened out; unable to see the signature kitty smile she always gave.

Naomi began tearing up as she bit her lips, before flinging her phone on the desk in a rage.

Because that photo would always be a painful reminder of how that she herself, killed her own best friend.

Because it would always remind her of how she would never see or even hear Seiko's voice all over again.

And it was all her fault for not controlling her emotions.

And just as her watery vision began to fade as her mother force fed her the pills that were given by the psychiatrist, she mumbled out three words before she fell into the darkness.

'_I'm so sorry._'


	3. Blame None But the 'Hero' Himself

Blame None But the 'Hero' Himself

… And with a kick to the side of the wooden door, Satoshi was met with the sight of Naomi hanging from her noose, choking to death.

Now you may ask, how the hell did they get in a situation like this? Frankly, Satoshi had no clue as well, since all they did was a charm, and he was pretty sure that they did it correctly.

Right?

Satoshi Mochida was the average teenage boy at Kisaragi High School in class 2-9. With the generic short brown hair that normal boys normally have and bright chocolate orbs, he was always the joke of the class rep's ghost stories, with her sadistic habit of scaring the heck out of Satoshi that he always yelled out a girlish shriek each time. But despite how much he hated ghost stories and the dark [these two almost always came together in a package of the twin tailed girl's story], he found himself sticking with the group anyway.

But even with his cowardly figure and fear of petty things like the occult, ironically, he somehow retained the level of being a leader. With his understanding and kind personality, he was the one who was willing to do anything or sacrifice his time for his friends. Naomi normally calls him a scatter-brain, which actually is a true fact, since he _is_ oblivious of certain things.

But enough of that. The actual story starts here.

With the end of the Kisaragi school festival and a rousing success for having attracted the most customers for both seniors and juniors alike, it was time for a sorrowful goodbye. Mayu Suzumoto, a tiny girl with a huge golden heart, was being transferred to a new school because of her father's work. With teary smiles all around and a photo taken by Morishige for good memories, Shinozaki had pulled out a paper charm from her pocket, saying something about a way to be together forever as friends with this charm.

A gnawing feeling bit at the back of his mind as he stared down nervously after the chants and at his fingers clung tightly to the Sachiko Ever After doll. As the countdown began from the courtesy of Ayumi, he had a really bad feeling that he and the others were going to be in danger.

For a moment after they had the ripped pieces of the doll apart and the happy cheers rang out, he thought he was overreacting and instantly calmed down.

Then with a powerful shake and the cracking of glass, the desks and chairs began to tremble and collapsed to the floor while everyone was left trying to steady themselves as they let out shouts of shock. With a fissure forming in the middle of the classroom, it eventually broke open into pieces, causing everyone to fall in.

Satoshi was the first one to go with his little sister.

Despite falling into what looked like the never ending darkness, he attempted to reach out to Naomi, extending his hand to grab at Nakashima's hand that was miles away as he fell to the abyss. Soon they were all swallowed into oblivion, consciousness fading by the second.

And all was dark.

And from the instant he woke up, he faced his little sister, who cowered on his chest, pointing to a spirit that glowed a dim blue light.

From then on, it was just step after step through this demented school after being filled in from the somewhat friendly spirit in the classroom about closed spaces and such. Satoshi found himself trembling through every step of the way, but with his little sister even more terrified from the idea of dying in this accursed place, that he forced himself to be strong, only for his friends to get out of here.

At one point, he had met Morishige, who had a creepy smile plastered on his face as he snapped a photo of a pulverised corpse on the wall. The moment that Satoshi called his name, the bespectacled boy had snapped out of his trance and quickly shut his phone with a snap. Satoshi knew, that deep within his rational mind that Morishige was taking pictures of a rotting, mutilated _corpse_, but he still flicked it off as he walked to him with a smile and relief that he managed to at least find one of his friends.

They still parted ways; Sakutaro had wanted to continue to his own way, so that they would cover more ground and regroup in class 1-A. Another fact was that he constantly stated he was in search of Mayu, worried that she would be terrified of the whole school.

And as Satoshi saw him walk away, he gave a faint smile of how he showed so much endearing emotions to Suzumoto.

'It's a pity that she wouldn't be in Kisaragi anymore,' Satoshi thought, oblivious to the fact that his sister was staring after the 16 year old boy that just walked away with a mortified expression.

They came across a slight issue throughout their terrible journey through the school; Yuka had to pee _really badly_. And for some strange reason, the school seemed to mock Yuka with completely unusable paths to the toilet stalls or there being no stalls at all. And while the young Mochida really wanted to go badly, she couldn't do it in a hole. She was kind of embarrassed to do it where her brother, other people or spirits could possibly see; being more comfortable with excreting in the stall.

It came to a point where Satoshi decided to let her do it outside the crossing to the next annex, waiting for her in said place.

Though the 14 year old girl was horrified of the fact of being alone, she admitted mentally that she had to really pee, so she reluctantly went out into the passage to the first wing where the rain poured down hard. Looking back at where Satoshi was, she gulped before she started to try and climb over the fence.

Satoshi, in the meanwhile, waited with arms crossed on his chest. And as he waited patiently, everything went black along with a searing pain to his head. He didn't remember anything after that.

When his chocolate eyes flickered open and he felt the sore pain from his head, he sat up to find himself in a completely different room from the hallway he was in. It was just as dark as the hallway, but his head was more lightheaded here than in that hall. Office desks littered with papers and corpses were strewn around the room as he gingerly got up to search for a way out.

Only the problem was, the door was fixed to the wall like a decoration.

_Crap_.

With all the might he could give, he pulled the door and shoved against it to no avail. The thought of his little sister getting in danger or even _killed_ flooded his mind, making his hands tremble in fear. Pacing around the room for anything that could get him out, he had stumbled upon some papers written by a reporter that apparently was stuck here too.

He examined each page of the reports, each having gruesome details of the bloody murder of the three children. Resisting the urge to vomit and quickly surpassing the information on how each child was killed, Satoshi noticed that the principal's son, Yoshikazu, was the one that was arrested for the crime but was however sent to a mental hospital instead of sentenced to the death penalty. He had lost his speech due to an illness, and tried to find jobs to no avail. Eventually, he escaped the asylum to commit suicide in Heavenly Host in the basement.

Flipping through the rest of the article quickly, Satoshi's eyes caught upon how many incidents of rape and suicide had happened in the same school. The aftermath of all that resulted into the school being closed down and ending with the principal chucking himself off the roof and killing himself instantly. The photographs of the four students were depicted beside the article. But what caught Mochida's eye was the girl in red, who he had seen an hour ago.

'But that doesn't make sense…' Satoshi thought with a frown on his face. 'If she didn't die… why was she here in the school? And even if she did… no, that's impossible…'

With a groan, he picked up the video cassette tape that was lying with the papers [which he also took along for good measure], before he moved to the door once again.

Still, it wouldn't open, as hard as he tried. Frustration coursed through his veins as he kicked the door in exasperation, regretting that move as he hopped on one foot with pain prickling from the other. As the hurt slowly numbed away, he turned around only to yelp and jump into the door; arms moving defensively in front of him as a girl with dead 'fish eyes' stared into his soul.

During that time that he had freaked out, the short haired girl had snatched the papers out of his hands and promptly tucked it in to her pockets. With an icy glare at him, she crossed her arms and closed her eyes with a huff.

"Do you always have this infuriating habit of going through what is not yours?" she narrowed her eyes as she spat out her words. "For someone who worries so about another well-being's instead of yours, surely you should have an ounce of respect for other people's property?"

He raised his hands in surrender before he backed even further into the door.

"I-I'm s-sorry?" he quivered out with an inflection at the end, glancing to the side and to the lady in front of him.

She continued to glare.

"Um…" he let out awkwardly before he gulped. "I don't think I know who you are…"

"I am simply a spirit of a girl who succumbed to the darkness." She spoke blankly, eyes continuing to bore a hole in his soul. "And you are a person who has unfortunately become trapped in this godforsaken school."

"R-Right…" he answered out in a nervous agreement, unsure of what to say next.

"It's amazing how people can be so foolish at times." She stated out loud, another step to a completely different topic. "How happiness can be linked to unhappiness; how a person believes that with little effort, they can achieve the success and fortune they want." The spirit gave out a small chuckle. "What a laugh. Don't humans know that there's a risk to all that?" she pondered to herself, mockingly tapping a finger to her chin.

"W-What… What point are you trying to make here?" Satoshi frowned, eyebrows knitting as he shifts to a straighter stance to show the little bit of confidence he had left.

"Tsk… have you forgotten the charm you did?" she plucked out one paper doll from her jacket pocket, an exact copy of the class rep's. "The reason you're here… is because you flubbed the Sachiko Ever After Charm."

The charm crumbled into dust in her hands as she allowed it to fall away from her palms.

With a swallow, Satoshi decided to venture further into the topic.

"The class rep's charm…? But surely we did it right… how did we mess it up?"

"If you recalled the instructions of this charm, the number of chants spoken is determined by the number of participants in this charm." The 17 year old girl pushed up her purplish red glasses up the bridge of her nose. "One of your fellow classmates must have either repeated the incantation too many or too few times. And someone," she gave a knowing look to Mochida. "Goofed up."

The 17 year old boy gave a small gasp before quickly going over his memories. Yeah… he remembered saying it nine times since there were nine of them… and everyone took it really seriously since it was Suzumoto's last day at Kisaragi. No one could have possibly decided to mess up at the last moment, right?

Right?

They couldn't possibly have messed up and… brought them into this place, right?

No…

"Perhaps it was on purpose, if you think deeply into it?" The girl said in mock awe, pacing for a few steps, giving off a heartless aura. "Your friends probably thought this charm was absolutely outrageous, and decided to not care about it. Or if possible, a single person wanted the fun to continue and so flubbed it for a do-over." She gave a glance over at the boy for his reaction.

Satoshi simply paled at the thought.

'No, no… that couldn't be it; no one would have done that… no….'

"And perhaps if it wasn't on purpose, some human beings have the tendency to be absent-minded and take things in a childish manner, yes? It's not surprising that they would mess up." The blue haired girl smirked devilishly, walking closer to Satoshi and placed a hand on his cheek. "So if they did screw it over… they would probably think that they would never be found out." Her hand trailed down his cheek. "Only to find themselves damning you all in Heavenly Host." She giggled darkly, moving to twirl Satoshi's locks of hair.

Almost instantly snapping out of his trance of disbelief, he slapped the spirit's hand away from flesh contact, giving a furious glare as he clenched his fists. He believed his friends; no one would ever do that! They were the 2-9s, they were all in this together, no matter the good and bad!

"Shut the hell up would you?!" he snapped, taking a threatening step forward from his anger.

The revenant simply smiled and let out a tinkle of a laugh.

"Oh, my apologies. It seems my ideas and scenarios have disturbed you. Mhmm~" she let out a hum of sickly happiness. "Well, perhaps it's because I have long abandoned my novel writing in search for my mentor." she placed a hand over her lips as a muffled giggle escaped her lips

Satoshi turned away, in absolute disgust as he bit it all down on his tongue.

All signs of a smirk are then washed away by a serious expression as she pointed to his pants pocket with a tilt of her head.

"Perchance… do you have your scrap of paper that you obtained from the charm you did?" the 17 year old girl looked up at him, unblinking.

Almost instinctively, he grasped his pants pocket, the charm scrap making a rustling sound that signified its presence in his pocket.

"Keep a tight grip on that and do not lose it. Treat it as if it was a treasured item given by your family members." She said without a single hesitation, waving her hand and gestured at the source of the rustle with her appendage.

Relaxing only slightly in the ghost's presence, he decided to cut their conversation short and find another escape route out of this room.

"I'm… sorry to cut this short." He muttered with a stop before turning to try the obviously ornamental door. "But I'm trying to get out of this room in search for my friends and especially my little sister. So if you don't mind."

The girl raised her chin up a tad, still keeping eye contact with him as she raised her eyebrows.

"You have such an open heart for your friends… every action you take with your time here; you nobly sacrifice for the sake of theirs…" she tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Truly a pure act of kindness." She turned away from the 17 year old boy for a brief moment, staring at the wall as if it was a fantastic piece of artwork. "That's basically the main idea of charms like this. They form the feelings of others and are the little things that make up a human's mind, body and soul." The spirit flicked her head back to face Mochida. "Whether love, hate, envy, desire… one spark of a strong emotion, and everything sets off into flames. And with that burning emotion, it changes the energy of the charm."

With a sudden crack of her neck after that deep speech, her eyes rolled up as she began to spout nonsensical words, waving her hands as she did so in some kind of ritual. And as she spoke each word with a sluggish slur, Satoshi felt searing heat rising from every single part of his body.

"W-Wait! What are you do-" he let out a gasp of pain as he fell to his knees, moaning from the heat. "Stop! Please stop it!" he yelled out, as the fire kept burning hotter and hotter, unable to withstand it any longer.

And just before he blacked out into the darkness, he heard a very mortifying and deep voice before his senses went numb.

"_Those who block out paths will suffer the consequences. Anyone who dares will suffer the pain and torture without any mercy." _it boomed, sounding very close to him as he heard a creak as someone kneeled next to him. "_So go. Proceed to the person who occupies your mind and thoughts…_"

And as a flash of white light consumed Satoshi and sent him to another closed space, Naho's lips turned up into an ominous grin.

"_Though… she'll probably die before you get a chance to stop her…"_

And with that, Naho Saenoki let lose to the halls of Heavenly Host, a demented laugh that echoed through the hallways.

~x-x-x- Blame None But the 'Hero' Himself –x-x-x~

And that was how he found himself here.

In front of Naomi, struggling as she choked against the noose around her neck.

Having followed a voice that belonged to Shinohara, he made his way the stairs to find Naomi's phone on the floor. Picking it up after he tossed it on the floor on hearing an eerie voice on the phone, he had promptly tucked it in his pants pocket before urgently he headed to the bathrooms as he heard Seiko's voice beckoning him.

And there she hung.

He instantly broke into a panicked mode, biting his lip as he let out a few angry yells on why the hell she decided it was a great idea to hang herself. Without a single hesitation or using the rusted bucket on the floor, he managed to prop Naomi on his shoulders to allow air circulation within once again. And somehow he had successfully loosened the rope that was slicked with blood to get Nakashima down, who gasped for air the moment it was untied.

It was a miracle that he managed to even get her down.

Before he could even open his mouth to ask what the hell was going on, Naomi had tackled him with a hug, exclaiming on how he was a jerk to have left her all alone.

And it wasn't after long that she showed him Seiko's hanging corpse.

He was in absolute disbelief when he saw her rolled up eyes and jaw hung open as she still swung as lifeless as ever. It felt so surreal; the cheery happy-go-lucky Seiko was dead. No longer living. Almost instantly did Satoshi put the blame on himself for not being there when Naomi needed him, cursing at how the school had already claimed one of their friend's lives.

They had took her down from the tool that killed her, before they shut her eyes and gently closed her mouth, setting her body down to lean against a wall. If it wasn't for the prominent bruise on her neck and the fact that they saw her body swinging in the stall, they would have probably believed that Seiko was just in a light slumber.

An aching pain made his way through to his heart, biting his lips as he once again believed that maybe if he could have been here sooner, just maybe, the three of them would be together, trudging through the school with determination.

That confidence was fading into the darkness, unfortunately.

They stopped by the infirmary, as Satoshi asked of her to rest there. And as he left to search for his little sister, Satoshi was sure he saw a flicker of fear in her eyes before she agreed to the idea and laid on the bed, shutting her eyes.

Taking big strides to the second wing of the school, he barely missed all the broken holes in the floorboards as his mind was set on getting his little sister back. But as he stopped in front of the place where the other annex was… his heart lurched.

The hallway towards the other part of the school… was just a wall.

He breathed out a shaky exhale of carbon dioxide before feeling the wall as if it were an illusion, heart beginning to pound from the fear; because _no, no, this can't be right, his little sister was still trapped there, why was it not letting him across_.

He falls on his knees before he lets out the most agonizing scream that resounded in the hallways, slamming his fists on the concrete wall in a rage. And he kept at hammering at it until his fists began to bruise, tears falling from his cheeks because _his sister was still in the other side, __**alone**__._

'_It's all your fault.'_

He cried as he gripped his head, not wanting to believe that the only way to his sister was blocked off.

'_Not only were you unable to save Naomi's best friend, but your sister's probably going to die too.'_

He let out an even more tormented scream, now resorting to banging his hands on the splintering floorboards, bruises turning black and blue all over.

'_Are you planning to let all your friends die too?'_

And as he continued to weep, the school began to shake once more, as he choked out the same words over and over again.

"_I'm sorry for being a coward_."


	4. My Dear Little Princess

My Dear Little Princess

"HWAH!"

The petite fourteen year old girl turned her small neck at an almost breakneck speed as she heard the terrifying and loud yell from outside the girl's lavatories' doors. It was bad enough that her tiny bladder was bursting at the seams through the few hours she was here in this horrible school, and that she couldn't even empty herself if she wanted to; all the toilet stalls were filled with decaying corpses that swung lifelessly on the tight nooses around their necks. And now with the mortifying screams?

Yuka didn't think she could take it any longer without her big brother by her side.

Only just an hour ago, [or, what _seemed_ like an hour] she was with her brother in the interior of Heavenly Host. They had found an extended pathway to the second wing of the school, and little Yuka really wanted to go badly. So as a suggestion, Satoshi had asked her to do it outside, much to the horror and shock of the fourteen year old girl.

With reluctance and a promise that her big brother would be waiting for her, she pushed against the doors to enter into the passage to the different wings.

As she placed her hands on the rotting wooden fence, she looked up to the sky above. It was raining heavily, and even standing in the shelter of the passage didn't do much to stop her smock from being damp. The heavens above was a mesh of black and murky blue all over the place; clouds ahead signaling nothing but a thunderstorm and plenty of hail to go around.

_Creaaaak_…

With a quick turn of her head to the left side that lead to where her brother was, her heartbeat began pounding harder and faster as quick breaths slipped from her lips. Her grip on the wooden barricade that blocked the pathway to the endless forest of trees hardened; her doll-like hands beginning to tremble from the horrors that await her. For a better reassurance, she twisted her head the right side.

Big mistake.

Like a cliché horror movie, sure enough, there was a spirit staring her down from the doors to the first wing. Like the girl in the red dress that Yuka and her brother saw, the revenant gave off an eerie ethereal blue glow as it trudged its way ever so slowly to the middle school student. Her left eye was nothing but a soupy bloody mess that dripped down her cheeks and onto her torn sweater; her only working eye left was penetrating the very soul of the fourteen year old with a menacing aura. In a mortifyingly uniform fashion, the rusty metal scissors that were coagulated with blood gave off the unnerving _snip snap_ sound as it opened and closed in her right hand.

And she was getting closer with each unsettling drag of her feet.

With a stumble and a scramble to the second wing without a moment to spare, she took strides as big as she could as the spirit quickened her pace; her eye still transfixed with a blank expression onto Yuka as the scissors rapidly opened and shut, going _snipsnapsnipsnapsnipsnap_.

When she pushed her way inside through the doors, the young Mochida collapsed on her knees; panting for air with her head bowed to her hands that were clutching the blue fabric of her uniform in fear. And when she finally looked up to seek the warmth and comfort of Satoshi's arms…

He wasn't in sight.

In a state of denial, Yuka scuffled up from the floor and started to hastily scan the area as she scouted within that vicinity. With no signs of her big brother and the tremble of her lip getting harder, her tiny foot got caught in the crack of the wooden floor, giving Yuka an unceremonious crash to the floor.

With a flinch as she pushed herself back on her knees, she started tearing up and it wasn't long before the tears fell from her cheeks to the creaking wooden floor.

Who wouldn't cry? The only person she was familiar with and her big _brother_ was separated from her. If it was just getting lost in the supermarket, it wouldn't have been so bad. But despite how Satoshi comforted her through this entire mess of a situation they were in, she wasn't blind to not see the decaying corpses that were littered with dried blood and wounds. This was a place filled with horrible surprises; so to be separated from your friend or family member was terrifying. Who knows when you would meet again and find them sprawled on the floor; eyes glassy and blood pooling from the floor?

Eventually, Yuka got up from the floor; sniffing hard and wiping away with her sleeves all the tears that stained her cheeks and made her eyes puffy and red. As much as she was the princess of the Mochida household, she wanted be grown up too. And she knew that crying away wouldn't bring her big brother back. So, with a spark of determination that slowly started to burn brighter, she marched off to explore the second wing; the idea of finding her big brother scratched into the depths of her mind.

Though, a cabinet nearly crushing her wasn't the best thing for the start of a journey.

And so she searched and searched, with no hints or clues to where her brother took off to. Yuka was about to burst into another set of waterworks when she heard a rather familiar sound rebound and echo from the room she was in. With reluctant and careful footsteps closer to the next room, she held her breath and walked straight in.

She was met with a mortifying sight.

Another white flash flickered in her cerulean orbs as Morishige took another picture of the fresh and still bleeding corpse that was spread eagled on the floor. Her locks of greenish-brown hair were mussed up; head bent in such a way that her glassy orbs were staring straight into Yuka's eyes. And the worst part was that it still held a glimmer of life despite the blood that drenched her uniform and tainted her hands as well as the gaping stab wounds that continued to bleed the no longer needed vital fluids.

It was almost as if she could get up and act as if nothing had happened.

And her big brother's classmate; god, he had his hands smeared with blood, some of it even splattered on his pants and Yuka swore there was a little smudge of the crimson liquid on his cheek. His dull navy blue eyes were transfixed on the photo he took; glasses gleaming as he shifted his head to take a better look as a disturbing smile began to etch its way to his face.

"Eep!" the fourteen year old let out a muffled noise behind a clasped mouth before taking a step back.

_Creaaak_.

With a sharp intake of breath and the widening of her cerulean eyes, she held her breath as he watched the boy cock his head slightly before shutting his cellphone with a snap and slowly got up with a shuffle.

A glower locked into place onto Yuka's being before taking a step forward, earning a creak from the hollow floorboards of the school. His eyes weren't having that uneasy aura anymore, but had the sheen of life that everyone else had; if they were alive, that is.

"You're… Mochida's sister…" he murmured sluggishly, before pocketing his phone and putting another foot forward.

"Um…" the middle schooled girl managed out as she continued to stare at the approaching sixteen year old.

"Tsk…" he lets out a sound of disgust before turning to take a glance at the fresh corpse. "There's no doubt about it; this place is going to drive us all to insanity. To think there would be a corpse so close by in the vicinity." He mutters, before moving his gaze to the fourteen year old, who was quaking. "Mm? You're trembling! What happened to Mochida?" Sakutaro quizzed; a hint of concern written in his voice.

Forgetting about her fear of the bespectacled boy for a moment, she came to realisation that she still couldn't find her brother. Her eyes shift to the floor; it was bad enough she bawled her heart out, Yuka wasn't planning to start the next flood in front of this creepy boy.

"Big brother… went away somewhere…" she mumbled, her voice cracking from the tears that were breaking through.

It was almost as if saying those very words started the flow of salty warm liquid down her cheeks again. Yes, she was sick of crying, but she was sick of being alone too. As much as she feared the impending doom that awaited her at every nook and cranny of the school, she had to find Satoshi no matter what.

Yet if she knew that, why couldn't she stop crying?

Morishige watched silently as the scene unfolded before his eyes. With a push of his glasses up his nose, he cleared his throat.

"You poor girl. Come along with me. I'll assist you in finding Mochida." He suggested, crossing his arms as he waited for the answer.

And almost immediately, she quickly wiped away her tears with her hands before looking up at the lanky sixteen year old. Biting her lower lip in anxiousness, she fidgeted with her hands to attempt to ease her worries.

"Um… it's okay. I'll find him… by myself." she fumbled with her words before she glanced to the doorway.

The silence that resounded after those words was terrifying. It was almost as if time itself had stopped when she said them. The fourteen year old and the sixteen year old were transfixed in their own spots before the bespectacled boy took a mechanical step forward.

And another step.

And another.

With another frightened eep, she backed up to the wall before the high schooled student moved in with a sadistic smile and dull azure eyes. Yuka squeezed her eyes shut before letting out a high-pitched scream; managing to push away from the cerulean haired boy and ducked away into the other corridor. A sinister chuckle gave way from Morishige's mouth before that chuckle began to evolve into full-out spine-chilling laughter.

"Why are you running, Yuka? Didn't I promise you that we'd find your brother?" he exclaimed loudly, glasses glinting ominously before he staggered almost nonchalantly to keep up with the younger Mochida.

The tears were brimming at in her vision as she ran as fast and steadily as she could and as far away from her brother's classmate. Sure, he was Satoshi's classmate, but that judging from the current state he was in, Yuka was pretty sure he would strangle her to death if she got too close. The sixteen year old was next to a _fresh_ corpse too, and didn't he have blood splattered all over him? Wasn't he taking pictures of those remains that were plastered all over the wall when they bumped into him an hour ago?

She bursted into the first room of the second wing with a whine as the feeling of a bursting bladder came right back at her. Her heart was pounding in her chest before she took a quick breather to look behind her if the lanky boy was still chasing after her.

Glancing to the exit way and back to the doorway, she let out a gasp from the insane laughter she heard before Yuka rushed to the entranceway and out in the pouring rain.

Seconds later, the fourteen year old threw herself back into through the building's doors, for the revenant was still there; hissing at her as she swung her rusty scissors wildly.

As Yuka slid down the entranceway door as soon as she slammed it shut, the cerulean eyed girl brought her knees up to her chest with a whimper, cradling herself as she let out laboured breaths from all the running she did. The middle schooled girl still didn't have a chance to empty her tank either, and Yuka was pretty sure she would wet herself soon if she kept getting chased around and being almost frightened to death.

After a few moments to get a hold of herself, she got up wearily and approached the doorway where she heard the crazed laughter with reluctance. Squeezing her eyes shut hard, Yuka opted to barrel through the doorway just in case the sixteen year old decided to jump out brandishing some sort of weapon to murder her.

Instead, she had bounced off whoever's chest she bumped into and fell hard upon the wooden floor of the school.

Not wanting to meet the eyes of who she assumed was Sakutaro here to kill her, her eyes travelled to his waist. Her azure eyes widened when she saw the familiar white uniform and jet black pants before she flew off from the floor and latched upon the figure in front of her with a sob making its way through her throat. Yuka didn't even want to hear his mumbled apology as she interrupted him with a whine.

"Big brother! You lied to me! You said you'd be there when I got back, and you left me all alone! You promised me to not go and-"

Yuka looked up before immediately letting out a noise of shock before backing away from the man who was _definitely_ not her brother.

"A-Ah! I-I'm sorry! I didn't know… I…" she stumbled with her words as she switched her gaze to her white shoes; embarrassment flooding her cheeks in the colour of pink and red hues.

The lanky man shook his head; shifting his maroon blazer on his shoulder before running his burly hands through his dark navy blue hair.

"I should be the one apologizing for bumping into you. Are you injured?" he questioned, kneeling down to her eye level with a flair of concern written into his movements.

"N-No… I'm fine…" the fourteen year old muttered before fidgeting with her blue smock and looked up to the man. "M-My name's Yuka Mochida…"

"My name's Yuuya Kizami. I'm an eleventh grader at Byakudan Senior High. And I shall assume you're from a different school?" he said, awaiting an answer.

Yuka nodded quietly.

Satisfied with the response he had received, Kizami gave small glances around the area he and the middle schooled girl was in before his eyes landed back on the short haired girl in front of him.

"Your name was Yuka, was it not?" he quizzed, getting an affirmation as another nod before continuing. "Were you also whisked off into this accursed place due to the ritual of the Sachiko Ever After charm?"

Furrowing her eyebrows into a confused frown that settled on her lips as she tried to backtrack in her mind about how she ended up in this terrible place. With not a clue to aid her in finding an answer, Yuka gave up in hunting through her thoughts and shook her head slowly.

"I don't know…" she muttered almost inaudibly, biting her lower lip nervously.

Yuuya gave a sympathetic smile before letting out a noise of understanding.

"I see. Seeing how you hugged me and called me your 'big brother'… I assume he's here with you in this godforsaken place?" He threw another question at her with a raise of his left eyebrow.

The frown on the girl's face immediately fell into one of a sorrowful look; biting on her lower lip even harder to prevent the tears from flowing so endlessly and freely down her cheeks again. Unconsciously, she had bowed her head slightly to face the floor to avoid crying in front of somebody she didn't know at all.

"Big brother…" she sniffled out, her voice cracking ever-so-slightly before she wiped the stray tears that made their way out of the corner of her eyes. "Big brotheeeer…" she moaned out with another wave of sobs as the inevitable tears trickled through once again.

"Tsk, tsk… you poor girl…" his face morphed into a concerned and pitiful expression before patting her gently on the shoulder and resting his hand there. "I have too, unfortunately, separated from my own sibling as well… my little sister. I'm trying my hardest to search for her, but there's no luck yet." He gave a frustrated sigh before feeding his hand into the locks of his messy hair again.

"Y-Your… little sister's here..?" she sniffed out after the fourteen year old took a few moments to gather deep breaths to soothe her trembling body.

"She is. And if I don't find her soon, I'm afraid that she might wind up…" he trailed off before shutting his eyes for a mere second, taking and releasing deep breaths as he did so. "If you would like though…" Kizami snaps his eyes open before giving a small reassuring smile. "You may accompany me while doing so. We'll look for your big brother while I search for my sister as well." He offers, slowly pushing himself up from his stance on the floor and extending a hand for Yuka to take.

"After all, being in this place is dangerous, so it would be best that we should stick together and not stray too far away. And my dear sister must be crying without the presence of her brother. So… will you join the journey onwards?"

Yuka stared at his extended hand before looking into his eyes for a brief moment. Almost immediately, she curled her fingers around his bigger ones, with a shaky but firm nod of her head.

"Y-Yes! Please… help me find my big brother!" she half yelled, half spoke in a quivery voice with the little determination that danced inside of her.

"Of course. Do not fear. I'm definitely positive that we will cross paths." He assured before they went off through the building together; the hunt had begun.

And so they did. After a several minutes of walking around aimlessly and stumbling upon the body that Yuka came across with her encounter with that bespectacled boy, [The poor girl had threw up a little bit in her mouth from the grisly sight of the body; they were _way_ too close for comfort for her] Kizami had warned the fourteen year old about the dangers of this school; with the revenants trying to murder anyone and anything that came into their sight, this place was deadly. Unknowingly, it struck fear into Yuka's little heart when Yuuya had continued and spoke on how the murderer of the children was in this school and how he and the spirits had killed a numerous amount of his friends during his time here. And with that, he told her that she _had_ to stick close to him no matter what.

Eventually with their little adventure around the second wing of the school and acquiring items from different areas, they had to make a little detour in their journey to hunt for a nearby bathroom, since the urge from her tiny bladder was getting too strong for her to hold onto. A few minutes later, they heard a shatter from the crystal inside Kizami's pocket as they came close to the bathroom door that was sealed from the paper charm slips that were stuck upon the wooden frame. Hesitantly moving forward, Yuuya attempted to move the door, to which it slid open with ease and smoothness, showing a slit of the dark lavatories.

The eleventh grader turned to his young companion.

"It looks as if it's usable now." He glanced back at the door before kneeling down in front of the fourteen year old girl. "Will you be alright by yourself? I don't want you to get injured in any way."

"Mhm… I'll be fine…" she struggled out before pushing the door open and hurriedly entering the bathroom before she wet herself.

"I'll be waiting out here for you, okay?" Kizami raised his voice for his message to reach the girl. "So take your time!"

"O-Okay." Was the muffled yet loud reply from the inside of the lavatories.

Yuka heard the footsteps walk away from the door, becoming fainter and fainter with each step. She would have nearly panicked and believed that he was leaving her behind had he not made that promise that he would be there waiting. And so instead of worrying herself over that, she shuffled forward with a bursting bladder and tried the very first toilet stall. To her confusion, it was answered by a definite thud and the tightening of rope as she attempted to push the door open. Instead of fussing with the same toilet, she moved to the next one; she needed to empty her tank _really_ soon.

And much to her growing horror as she tried the next stall after the next, she was left as a panicking mess as she realised that all the stalls were full with, after looking up and catching the noose on each of the wooden beams above the stall, dead bodies.

It was during this time that she had heard a grunt, a scream and a yell not long after the two mortifying sounds.

And here she was, facing the door with trembling and quivering stature and eyes widened in fear.

With a reluctant air and a squeeze of her eyes shut, Yuka dashed out of her bathroom before slamming it shut and slumping herself on the nearby wall with laboured pants. Kizami turned around with a concerned expression plastered all over his face as he hurriedly walked to the middle schooled girl and knelt down to check for any injuries.

"Are you hurt? You're shaking quite a bit…" he muttered out, eyebrows knitting into a frown.

The fourteen year old girl simply shook her head wildly as she hesitantly got up and steadied herself with long deep breaths. Her eyes were still screwed shut, but she could hear the shuffle of Kizami's feet before he got up and took her gently by the hand.

She had almost flinched away from the touch.

Instead, she kept deadly quiet as she followed the seventeen year old without focusing on the place they were heading to; what with the scream still etched in her mind and replaying itself over and over again. But it was almost as if Kizami knew that she was acting up as he came to a halt in the doorway to the next room, turning back to set a look upon the girl.

"You really are shaking! Is anything the matter, Yuka?" he quizzed, his eyebrows quirking giving an air of confusion and worriedness.

Yuka gulped down a stutter.

"May… may I ask how does your sister look like?" she fumbled out; she was trying to test her hypothesis.

"Oh, most certainly." Kizami's words flow out nonchalantly as he crossed his arms and hummed knowingly with closed eyes. "My little sister is a very short and adorable girl. But despite her small stature, her curious eyes are always wide and sparkling." He chuckled softly and lets out a content sigh.

"I… I see." She hesitantly said as she slowly tried to take steps away from the eleventh grader.

But Yuuya wasn't done with his little description of his sister yet.

"Her locks of hair are short but choppy. And… she's also studying in a junior high school around my home." He breathed out, his eyes gleaming sadistically and with slight madness.

Yuka's expression morphed into that of a terrified expression and was now rooted in spot; forgetting about her plan on escaping the now confirmed psycho of a person in front of her.

"And if I could recall very clearly..." he rubbed his chin almost mockingly before fixing a look on the fourteen year old with a faint smirk filled with insanity. "She always wore a blue smock."

With a gasp and a stumbled 'W-What?", she backed away quickly from the seventeen year old, who now wore a wicked grin and a crazed glint in his dull and dilated eyes. The high schooled boy let out nerve-wrecking snicker which eventually evolved into full-blown blood-chilling laughter. He had bowed his head while he was doing so, giving Yuka ample time to give a wide berth from him as she started giving glances behind her frantically.

"Um… I… I think I'll b-be okay… on my own… now… I can f-find my big b-brother on my own…" she mumbled out swiftly as she hastily turned to take the first large stride towards the other doorway.

A burly hand latched itself hard on the petite girl's shoulder as she gave out a frightened wince.

"Whatever are you talking about Yuka?" he exhaled out with an absolutely mortifying look in his eyes and the same crazed grin on his lips.

"_I am your big brother_."

A cold chill ran down the spine of the fourteen year old girl as she let out an inaudible gasp that did nothing to break the barrier of silence as the seventeen year old leaned closer to the fourteen year old.

"You're my little sister. And since there's absolutely no way out of this place…" his wicked smile widened further. "Let us cherish our time left until our dying breaths for as long as possible."

"I… G-Goodbye!" Yuka responded with a rush in her words before jerking herself out of Kizami's grasp and making her way swiftly to the doorway without glancing behind once.

But before she could even get to the doorway, Kizami's voice echoed towards her in a mocked concerned tone.

"Yuka-chan?" he sang out as he gingerly pulled out his blood-crusted knife and started to brandish the blade to admire the beautiful crimson liquid that stained it. "I wouldn't really recommend going downstairs. A little scuffle happened just now, and I wouldn't want my dear sister to see all that mess."

With a demented chuckle thrown across and the shifting of footsteps, Yuka gasped before pushing herself through the doorway and dashed her way down the stairs.

As she almost tripped herself down the steps into a ticket for a broken neck or fractured bones, the tears began to tear its own way through the corners of her eyes; the only sounds heard being the pounding of her heart, her own hiccupping sobs and the hammering of her own petite footsteps on the creaking floorboards. Even with a good head-start and the almost nonchalant resounding footsteps from the madman, the fourteen year old swore she could feel his hot breath on her small neck as the knife sang through the air with a sharp swish. Ducking quickly into the room, she was almost instantly met by a gnarly sight.

The sixteen year old lay sprawled on the rotting wooden floorboards that were getting drenched by the second from the pool of crimson blood that leaked from the stab wound on the left side of his abdomen. The vital fluids spurted out from his breathless lips; coughing hard as he gasped in shallow breaths of oxygen as if to alleviate the intense pain he was feeling. His maroon blazer was torn as well as the white uniform beneath it due to the sharpened blade that sliced oh-so-easily through the fabric and into the flesh. Kurosaki pressed his bloodied hands upon the wound, applying pressure in a desperate attempt to stem the bleeding.

"A-Ah!" Yuka backed off with her hands clasped against her mouth as she let out a muffled whimper at the sight of the dying boy.

The only response at the terrified sound was even more coughing and more blood being spilled out from his mouth onto the floor.

With a gulp and a reluctant step, Yuka moved forward quickly, forgetting about who exactly was chasing her and focusing her attention on the poor boy in front of her. She bit her lip before giving a quick glance around the vicinity of the area.

"A-Are you a-alright?" the sapphire eyed girl wheezed out in a panicky tone, gripping the hem of her cobalt smock so hard that her knuckles turned pale.

"W-Who…" he panted, giving another harsh cough before continuing. "W-Who are y-you…?"

"My n-name's Mochida…" she gave a glimpse before shuddering at the growing blood puddle beneath him. "Y-Your stomach… it's… bleeding really badly. I n-need to find something to stop it…"

With that, she tore her gaze to look around helplessly at the completely barren room, save for a locked door and useless scraps of wood.

"C-Come on, Yuka, think! My handkerchief's too small… it won't help with a wound this big! What should I do…?" she let escaped a noise of frustration before she started tapping her foot impatiently as if an idea would pop into her head almost immediately if she did so.

The tapping seemed to have been sufficient to distract the fourteen year old from the sound of a single footstep forward upon the creaking floor.

Kensuke's dulling orbs widened as he saw the familiar figure of his childhood friend.

"A-Ah!" he rasped out with the little breath he had inside of his system. "Y-You… You need to get away right now! Hurry!" the sixteen year old's failing heart was beginning to pick up its pace for the safety of the girl in front of him.

Two steps forward.

"No! You'll die at that rate! I need to do something!" she protested, unaware of the malevolence aura behind her back as she stepped forward and knelt down in the pool of body fluid without a hesitation. "I-I'll just apply more pressure, okay?! Stay with me!"

_Thump, thump._

"N-No! Please, I… go! Just go!" he spluttered out as he caught sight of the light reflecting off the tiny bit of blade that wasn't covered by coagulated blood.

Two steps. Another two steps. _Thump, thump._

"Kurosaki!" Kizami exclaimed with false shock and horror. "Which horrible monster would have done this to you?!"

"Kiza-"

Without a single word, he stepped forward and registered a powerful kick onto Yuka's stomach as she turned around in terror to face the crazed maniac. It earned a high-pitched shriek from her lips which followed by her flying through the air and landing unceremoniously near the doorway. The middle schooled girl gave a twitch as a reaction to the unbearable pain that was coursing through her, making her lose her bowels for a moment.

And with that her vision faded to black.

The last thing that she heard before she lost consciousness was Kizami's voice.

"And that's for not listening to your big brother, Yuka."

~x-x-x- My Dear Little Princess–x-x-x~

When Yuka's eyes had fluttered open on the short time she passed out, the intense pain whipped back at her and penetrated her sore stomach, causing her to wince. Almost immediately, she coughed and hacked from the agony as she attempted to gasp for dear oxygen.

"It hurts… my stomach…" she wheezed out as she slowly pushed herself up; vision bleary and dark. "Big… b-brother!"

As the first sob trickled out of her lips and the pain began to pulse in area where the madman had kicked her, a sinister voice echoed out into the room.

"Ah… back to our senses now, are we, Yuka?"

Her cerulean orbs trailed to the right before she gave a terrified gasp as her eyes widened and dilated.

"Everything… is just going to be _allllright_ now…" Kizami hummed out lowly as he continued to stare at Kurosaki's still figure; now with a gaping hole and intestines pooling out of his abdomen. "Your big brother will definitely protect you now, Yuka."

He got up and slowly turned his head; eyes holding a crazed look as Yuka caught sight of the blood that splattered and dripped down his cheeks.

"Your big, _strong _ brother will be there for you…" Yuuya purred as he gave a giggle.

"N-No! NO!" the fourteen year old screamed as she quickly got back on her feet with laboured breaths.

"Hmm? 'Science Lab' key, huh? Well, you won't be needing this anytime soon, Kurosaki… heheh…" he chuckled; panting out from the 'workout' he did.

"Nooo…"

"Isn't it just horrible, the way the revenants of this place kill you? Morbid, isn't it? Well, you wouldn't want it to happen to you, right?"

Kizami moved closer to where Yuka stood trembling.

"Well, don't you worry. I won't let them do that to you, oh no. No, I'll definitely protect you from that horrible fate."

Kizami gave a wider grin.

"For you see… I'll kill you myself! I'll snuff out that tiny… _tiiiiny _life of yours…" he snickered which soon evolved to loud disturbing laughter that filled the room and Yuka's heart with uneasiness.

"_NOOOOO! BIG BROTHEEER!_"

And with that she tore out of the room without bothering to hear the frantic laughter and yells that Kizami uttered out.

And as her footsteps pounded out into room after room in search for the key to the outside, [because for some strange reason, it was locked; but Yuka was definitely sure it _wasn't_ before…] she realised that she didn't managed to save that boy who was bleeding out all over the floor. With a sickening twist of her stomach as she attempted to block out Yuuya's shouts and threats, she bit her lip hard to prevent anymore sobs from escaping.

This ended in vain, however.

Maybe if she was just a little bit quicker and nimble with her movements, she would have probably got both him and her out of that situation. She assumed that since the last thing she saw was Kizami approaching her with a wicked glint, he had somehow directed his attention and got himself killed.

'Why…' she hiccupped out a sob before she sharply turned a corner to avoid the nearing swish of the knife behind her. 'Why can't I do things on my own and not mess up?! I'm fourteen; I should be able to handle this! If only- '

The fourteen year old tripped from getting her foot caught in a broken floorboard before pushing herself up with a watery wince.

'_If only I wasn't such a princess.'_


End file.
